Out with the Old, In with the New: Recharging Your Cells with the Mighty Oak

[HEALTH] One of our body’s greatest superpowers is its ability to clean out old and dysfunctional cellular debris. This repair process is so cool, it even has its own name: mitophagy. Through mitophagy your cells find old mitochondria, break them down, and recycle them with newer, healthier mitochondria. Mitophagy can influence how we feel, age, and recover from stress.

And what's even cooler is that there are phytonutrients found in oak trees, especially French oak wood extract (aka robuvit), that have polyphenols the body metabolizes into antioxidants called urolithins, and studies show urolithins may activate mitophagy. Oak trees have actually been used for centuries- the Aztecs used oak root bark to treat depression, locals in Asia use acorns as food, and early North Americans too, as well as consuming drinks made of oak bark. 

In one article published to PubMed Central in 2021 [1], researchers confirm that ellagitannins from French oak wood extract are metabolized by gut flora into urolithins, and these metabolites are “responsible for an elevated mitophagy.”

In a clinical trial [2 3] supplementing with 300 mg/day of French oak wood extract for several weeks induced significant increases in circulating urolithin A, urolithin B, and urolithin C. Many subjects had very little or no detectable levels of urolithins at the beginning, but by the end of the study, 75% were producing urolithin A, demonstrating that supplementation can "turn on" this pathway even in non-producers. 

Benefits To Improved Mitophagy 

Increased energy.
Improved sleep.
Less inflammation and oxidative stress.  
Promotes brain health and defends against neurodegeneration.
Improves muscle function, performance, endurance, and recovery.
Promotes healthy metabolic function, including healthy glucose metabolism, increased insulin sensitivity, and improved fat metabolism.
Increases metabolic flexibility.
Supports cardiovascular health.
Promotes healthier aging by preventing a build-up of damaged cells.
Improved physical performance. 

Increased vitality, endurance, and lifepsan.
[1,2,3,4,5]

How To Get It

There are currently three ways to raise urolithin A levels, which in turn may help induce mitography.

1. Eating ellagitannin-containing foods, such as pomegranate, raspberries and walnuts (acorns too)
2. Supplementation with a French oak wood extract supplement (marketed as Robuvit). Robuvit also contains ellagitannins, which are metabolized into urolithins by your gut microbiota.
3. The third way is through supplementation with urolithin A directly, which allows one to skip the middle-person step of your gut microbiota having to produce UA from its precursor substances. 

What are you waiting for? Go grab some walnuts!